5 Sauces That Elevate Any Meal

Fear not the sauce. Contrary to the closely held conviction of toque-topped French chefs, these flavor enhancers don't have to be complicated or time-consuming. Sauces also don't require labor-intensive stocks, fussy emulsions, or copious quantities of calorie-heavy cream. Heck, you don't even need a pantry stocked with obscure ingredients. In short, a delicious sauce does not have to be a pain in your ass. We asked five celebrated chefs to share the secrets of their favorite simple sauces. Happily, they obliged. Follow their lead. Get saucy.

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The Herb Sauce

Despite their modest appearance, fresh herbs can provide a sturdy backbone for sauces. Just make sure you use enough of them to stand up to hearty red meat and robust fish. April Bloomfield, chef and owner of the Spotted Pig in New York City, showcases herbs in her chimichurri, an Argentine sauce made with parsley, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and vinegar. Her version swaps oregano for fresh mint and adds lemon juice.

Chimichurri
Mince 2 medium shallots and 1 garlic clove and toss them together in a large bowl with 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Finely chop 2 cups each of flat-leaf parsley and mint. Add the herbs to the olive oil mixture, along with 1 tsp seeded and minced habanero chile. Stir, season with sea salt, and let the sauce sit so the flavors meld, a few minutes or up to 2 hours. Before serving, stir in 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Makes 1 cup

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The Tart Sauce

Think of premade condiments as sauce starters. This five-minute fusion from Paul Berglund, head chef at the Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, doctors up a duo of mustards with vinegar and dill for a result that's equally at home on sandwiches, soft pretzels, or gravlax. Apply the concept to other condiments: Puree chipotle chiles into BBQ sauce, add wasabi powder (carefully) to mayo, or mix some curry powder into your ketchup.

Butter makes a beautiful sauce base because it's creamy and absorbs the flavors of other ingredients. But here's a secret: If you cook it to create a browned butter, you'll unlock roasted, sweet, caramel flavors within the butter itself. This sauce, from Stuart Brioza, chef and co-owner of State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, throws in fresh, Asian-inspired flavors to liven up the taste. Resist the urge to eat it straight off the spoon.

What bottled hot sauces lack in freshness they often make up for in vinegar. That's fine if you want to turn dinner into a pickle, but for a hot sauce that won't overpower the meal, turn to real produce. This smoky-spicy sauce comes from Tim Byres, executive chef of Smoke in Dallas. Byres leverages the acidity of tomatillos to balance the burn of guajillo chiles. "You can marinate chicken in it or just use it as a dipping sauce," Byres says.

Tejano Red Sauce
In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast 8 guajillo chiles until aromatic, 3 to 5 minutes. Let them cool, then remove the stems and seeds. Dehusk, rinse, and quarter 1 pound tomatillos. In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, saute 8 peeled garlic cloves in 2 tsp vegetable oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatillos along with 2 cups water and 1 1/4 tsp salt. Turn the heat to high and cook until the tomatillos are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chiles and cook until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Puree the sauce in a blender or food processor, and then strain it.

Makes 2 cups

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The Big, Bold Sauce

Brands like A.1. and Heinz make bank by developing master sauces loaded with steak-flattering flavors. Sure, you could slather the bottled stuff over your T-bone, but it will always taste, well, from the bottle. So build your own bold stuff, says Chris Hastings, the executive chef and owner of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama. Use half the batch to baste your protein, he says, and save the other half to spoon over your meal. It's that good.

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